Pages

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Never Too Late

A couple weeks ago my son and I were eating in a restaurant when one of my friends from my bowling days came in. I could hardly believe it. She looked like she had lost a good forty pounds. And yes - it did her good! She looked like she had the body of a 35 year old, and she and I are nearly the same age.

I blurted out, "You've lost so much weight!" She looked confused at first and then realizing I hadn't seen her in a couple years, replied, "Oh, yeah. I started running." Running? At our age? Again - something totally off my radar.

It turns out that she and her husband have started running races, and they're doing well. She also had participated in a competition for people who had received organ transplants and won that, too. Get this - in the 50-yard dash and the long jump!

Yes, you read that right. About fifteen years ago, this woman stood at death's door. She had to have a liver transplant. When I first met her several years ago, she was still getting used to the idea that she had someone else's liver. I remember her saying she left all the worrying about it up to her family and focused on getting her body healthy again.

So now that she's healthy again, she's on to bigger and better things. Well, if this was the second part of her long-range plan, it's been to her advantage. That night, she and her husband had stopped in for a bite to eat before they competed in a couple's bowling leage. Her average is 172.

A decade ago, my friend's main goal was to get healthy and try not to reject this gift of life in the form of a healthy liver. Now she's using her body every day in ways she thought impossible a few short years ago. It was quite inspiring. Her example tells me it's never too late to get healthy.

Am I going to start running? Umm...I don't think so. But walking? That I can manage!